Regional Civil Defence Director, Benjamin Quijano, said explosives will need to be used to clear the debris.

Landslides and avalanches in Peru, mainly in rural towns in the Andes and Amazon, have killed 28 people and destroyed 1,245 houses so far this year, according to the National Civil Defence Institute, Indeci.

The Director of the weather unit at Peru's Service of Meteorology and Hydrology, Grinia Avalos, said sea temperatures have increased above normal. These weather patterns have generated rain in the region.

Peru's weather forecasters said they forecast a chance of El Nino conditions starting in May, with weak or moderate intensity.

El Nino, the warming of Pacific sea-surface temperatures, can trigger drought in some parts of the world and cause flooding in others.

Humala said he hoped declaring a state of emergency in the area would help local authorities purchase needed goods to aid the population.